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Wednesday, December 26, 2012

Friday, December 21, 2012

I’m on hiatus! The nice thing about working on tv shows is that you get a nice, proper bit of time off for the holidays. So, with my Christmas shopping all done and my apartment all freshly cleaned and organized… it’s about time I catch up on some VERY BELATED veggie burger posts!

This one is from back in October – my friend Sasha and I went to Williamsburg to check out the foodie spectacular known as Smorgasburg. As I usually do, I immediately hunted down the local veggie burger option… and there was Chickpea & Olive, with vegan SLIDERS!

Made with beets, barley, mushrooms, and lentils, these sliders were a bit pricey as far as tiny burgers go, but looked so mouth-watering that I couldn’t resist. The staff making and selling the sliders (and other delicious-looking vegan food) were very friendly, and chatted with me while they cooked. Apparently a lot of people are mislead by their name, and end up disappointed that they can’t order, literally, chickpeas and olives. I think the words “Phatty Beet Slider” caught my eye before their name, but I’m biased.

I took my sliders and met up with my friends on a picnic bench in the park next to the Smorgasburg area (while it may be a foodie’s dream come true to have so many food vendors all in one place, once it starts getting crowded, it’s as claustrophobic and annoying as Times Square! Go early in the day if you can).

But these sliders were definitely worth the crowded event – the bun was delicious, toasty but still soft. A little hard to fit in your mouth due to the shape and height though, so I ended up taking my sliders apart to eat them. The sauce had mostly melted into the patties, so I couldn’t really distinguish it from the patty flavoring itself. But that was definitely the best part – the rich, hearty, spicy patty! I immediately wished it was larger, I would definitely eat this in a regular non-slider burger size! This is exactly the kind of veggie burger patty that makes the inexperienced veggie burger eater say “OH! THIS is what they can taste like when they’re done right!”

Smorgasburg is over for the season now, but hopefully Chickpea and Olive will be back serving their tasty sliders there next year!